I am getting increasingly worried about education as the time ticks on towards my son’s first day of school. 7 weeks to go.
I know as soon as he steps into that classroom, I’m not really in control of his learning anymore. I can support him with it, of course, but it is really down to him at the end of the day. Even at 5 years old, I believe that.
So what if the teaching he receives in classrooms is going to destroy his natural curiosity? What if his creativity is crushed because he doesn’t do things the way he’s “supposed” to? What if he isn’t encouraged to share his learning with others, and is told off for not sitting still and shutting up? I worry about all these things so much.
I want so much for him to experience everything amazing that is possible in education. I want his love of learning and inquiry to continue. He is ace at making connections already, he asks questions and searches for answers. He knows what he is passionate about but needs challenging to do the things which are hard for him at the moment. But challenging in the right way, so as not to kill his effort.
He needs someone who will bother to get to know him as an individual, not just as your typical 5-year-old. He isn’t your typical 5-year-old. Who is? They are all individuals and need different things to support their optimum learning.
There are a lot of teachers and schools out there who are doing learning the same way they’ve (and teachers and schools before them as well) always done learning. This worries me. Oh boy, it worries me. They aren’t doing it maliciously. They’re doing it because they were shown that way, or that is the way they can manage it. Teaching is a hard job and we all find ways to cope with it. But I am not happy to let my son put up with adequate…I want amazing.
He deserves to be inspired,
to be interested,
to be motivated,
to be challenged,
to be encouraged,
to be…to learn.
How can we make change? How can I make sure that my son gets the best? It shouldn’t matter where he is in NZ, which school he has, which class he is in, or which teacher he has. He should be getting an effective, 21st-century education, in his local school. All students should. But are they?
I’m worried the answer is a resounding,
“No”.
changing learning 
I think our children are the same age! My little man starts on the 25th of October and I am on countdown. He is my baby, the last one I am letting loose in to this big wide world and wow, the feelings are overwhelming. I have considered keeping him at kindy until the end of the year. At kindy they foster his curiosity, he is exploring, learning, visiting the local gym for fun and exercise…just getting to be a kid. But then he tells me he wants to go to school…he thinks it is this amazing place and I hope beyond hope, like you, that I don’t see the wonder and curiosity slowly disappear. I am already questioning my choice of school after going in to try and negotiate school visits! As a teacher, they are hard to arrange. Family first, but wow! All three of my older children have been through the same primary and by all accounts they are doing well, but there is this part of me that wants something different. I want a Manaiakalani school but here!
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My son is 5 on the 14th of October! He is very blase about the whole thing in actual fact and much of my worry is simply because I know how amazing learning can be. A Manaiakalani school would be amazing. Or a Haeata or Te Karaka Area School! Or that amazing one we saw at Mind Lab once – Quest or something like that. We just have to hope for (and push for if necessary) the best!
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